JTV Boasts 2016 Secret Sales Rose ‘Double Digits’

Pardon us being late on this, but we were starting a new gig the day Jewelry Television put out this press release.

JTV tooted it own horn to say that it posted “double-digit increases in sales and orders, which continued to outperform the wider retail sector” in 2016.

For the calendar year, the home shopping network reported that last year its sales rose nearly 14 percent. By contrast, the wider retail sector saw single-digit sales growth in 2016.

The National Retail Federation expected annual growth of 3.4 percent in its latest forecast for retail sales, excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants.

What the network didn’t tell us was its precise sales figure for last year. We would bet you they were just a fraction of the revenue of the home shopping giants, QVC and HSN, even if they were up “double digits.”

QVC generated $6.1 billion in revenue in 2016, while HSN had $2.5 billion.

JTV’s “ongoing strategic investment in market-leading engagement helped drive even stronger growth in mobile commerce,” according to the press release. Both mobile visits and mobile sales increased by more than 30 percent year-over-year.

“Our unique omni-digital strategy across broadcast, mobile and online platforms is engaging new and returning customers in a way that drives powerful growth for our top and bottom line,” JTV CEO Tim Matthews said in a canned statement.

“We are committed to elevating the customer experience and continue to develop a dynamic and powerful retail platform.”

In the holiday quarter last year, JTV saw an increase of 7 percent in sales when compared to the same period of 2015.

JTV gave itself another pat on the back to end its press release

“Although best known for its innovative broadcast media platform, JTV also has demonstrated industry leading customer engagement on its web property, jtv.com,” it said.

“In 2016, JTV was identified by analytics company SimilarWeb, as the No. 1 site for customer engagement as defined by average visit duration. Additionally, it was recently selected by Internet Retailer as one of the Top 100 innovative e-retailers due to its mobile execution.”